Andrey Santos made a bright first appearance for Manchester United in a pre-season friendly against Wrexham in Helsinki, but his side lost 1-0. Sam Smith scored the only goal six minutes before half-time, tapping in after Lewis O’Brien’s cross appeared to go through Harry Maguire’s legs. Smith had earlier headed against his own crossbar from a corner.
Santos impresses on debut
Santos, who joined United from Chelsea for an initial £48m earlier this week, took his place at the base of midfield alongside Mason Mount. The 22-year-old Brazilian showed a good range of passing and won several duels in a busy display. Manager Michael Carrick had praised Santos’s attitude before the match, saying: “He’s a fantastic character. He’s settled in so quickly and he’s buzzing to be here.”
United were without players who featured at the World Cup, including new signing Youri Tielemans and Benjamin Sesko, but Carrick fielded a strong starting XI in front of 20,000 spectators.
First-half action
Wrexham, who played their first pre-season friendly against Wisla Krakow last weekend, looked brighter early on. Bailey Cadamarteri nicked the ball off Ayden Heaven before the defender recovered. United’s first chance came in the 24th minute when Joshua Zirkzee shot wide. In the 36th minute, Smith almost scored an own goal when he tried to clear a corner but hit his own bar. He soon made amends by scoring the opener.
Second-half changes
Twenty-one of the 22 players were replaced at half-time, with only Wrexham’s Aaron James staying on. Carrick sent out a side of academy products against a Wrexham team featuring Conor Coady and Kieffer Moore. United dominated possession but struggled to create chances. Wrexham threatened with a low shot from Davis Keillor-Dunn, saved by Radek Vitek. United’s first shot on target came in the 78th minute when Ethan Wheatley prodded Harry Amass’s cross goalwards, but Dan Ward saved, before also holding a low drive from Shea Lacey.
Team line-ups
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Heaton (Vítek, h-t); Yoro (Kamason, h-t), Maguire (Devaney, h-t), Heaven (Armer, h-t), Shaw (Amass, h-t); Mount (T Fletcher, h-t), Santos (Gore, h-t); Mbeumo (Lacey, h-t), J Fletcher (Collyer, h-t), Dorgu (Williams, h-t); Zirkzee (Wheatley, h-t). Wrexham (3-4-2-1): Okonkwo (Ward, h-t); Vyner (Hyam, h-t), Scarr (Coady, h-t), Doyle (Brunt, h-t); A James (Moore, 70), M James (Rathbone, h-t), O’Brien (Dobson, h-t), Thomason (Ashfield, h-t); Smith (Barnett, h-t), Broadhead (Keillor-Dunn, h-t); Cadamarteri (Moore, h-t).
